No More Annoying Ads. Google Chrome to Start Blocking Auto-play Ads from Next Week – StarmineNews.com

Beginning September 1, Chrome users will have faster browsing experience now that Google is prevents any Flash media from playing automatically.

Google, whose headquarters is based in Mountain View, California, is currently in talks with Adobe on ways to improve page load speed and power consumption on devices. Based on the Chrome’s official blog, any Flash-based content especially those containing unsolicited ads will be automatically blocked.

To access its content, users have to right-click on the media using the click-to-play feature. This allows only important plug-ins and would only store less on the browser’s cache. The initiative is also Google’s way to prevent malvertising, the rampant use of online advertisement containing malware and spyware against the user’s computer.

Chrome software engineer Francois Beaufort said videos will not play unless it is a central content to the active tab. With this, web surfers will not be wondering where particular sounds are coming from, especially if they are loading multiple tabs.

Meanwhile, advertisers and companies promoting their products online are not pleased with Google’s click-to-play policy. Online advertisements generate income for every views or clicks, and this might be a setback for ads running on low technology.

Google said Chrome has the ability to convert HTML5-compatible Flash media, so as to compensate Adwords losses for the said company. According to data analysis expert NetApplications, the new set of policies will affect Adobe Flash, since Chrome shares 27.8 percent of the market.

Flash is also not supported on iOS devices, and earlier this week, Amazon announced it will no longer accommodate Flash-based ads. Last month, Mozilla’s Firefox temporarily blocked Flash due to a number of technical complaints they received from web users.

Instead of Flash, Chrome is campaigning for the use of HTML5 for all built-in media types. Just like its previous versions, HTML5 is lightweight and more user-friendly. It does not take a lot of cache; thus, preventing lags and problems loading pages.

Common problems with Adobe Flash is that the plug-in does not work well with specific websites, or if the site is loaded with content. If it is embedded with music or video, expect delays in streaming, unless the resolution is reduced.

With HTML5, the media is flattened in a way that it does not impede with the site’s function. The size is also reduced to a minimum without necessarily affecting its quality.